Inaugural LIL Tournament Outdoor Beer Garden

The Mabel League has been granted the City’s first outdoor beer garden licence at a sporting event! We’re trailblazers!

With a great event comes great responsibility. As trailblazers, we are the test case for the City. If our beer garden goes well (which of course it will) other groups will be allowed to apply for beer gardens. So it is very important that while we’re all having a great time at the beer garden we remember to follow the rules. Then Vancouverites will enjoy outdoor sportsy beer gardens for years to come.

The Rules:

The rules are the usual ones:

2 pieces of ID are required for entry. The beer garden is 19+. No babies, no fur-babies, no exceptions. If you want to bring your Grandma, please do, but make sure she brings her 2 pieces of ID. If we’ve been friends for 30 years and I know damned well you’re over 19, that’s nice, go us for being friends for so long – you still need to bring your 2 pieces of ID. And you need to keep that ID on you. We are expecting to get inspected, so help us out and keep your proof of age with you.

Serving it Right rules apply. We want everyone to have a good time, not a sloppy time. You will not be served if you appear to be intoxicated. Even if you’ve got more beer tickets, we reserve the right to refuse you service, as mandated by Serving it Right.

Behave yourself. This ain’t tea with the Queen. But neither is it a mosh-pit, a riot or an excuse to be a jerk. Mabel Leaguers are fabulous folks, we don’t expect anyone will be behaving badly, but hey, it has to be said. Please also keep in mind that everyone working at the beer garden (with the exception of security) is a volunteer.

No beverages can be brought into or out of the beer garden: We don’t care if it is water, no beverages can be brought in. There will be a water station inside where you can fill your water bottles, so please empty them out before getting to the beer garden entrance. Similarly, even if it is water, please don’t bring it outside the beer garden. There will be places to dump unwanted or unfinished drinks before you leave the beer garden.

There, now that’s out of the way, how about some details about the beer garden?

QUICK FACTS:

$10 entry gets you a plastic beer stein and 2 beer tickets

$5 entry gets you a plastic beer stein and 1 pop ticket

Additional tickets for sale inside ($5 for beer, $2 for pop)

Beer, cider, coolers and pop available for purchase, water is free

Beer garden runs from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. with last call at 8:30 p.m.

Cash Only (there are ATMs at 7-11 on Victoria between 53rd and 54th and Scotiabank on 49th and Elliot)

No food is available inside the beer garden, but you can bring your own in

Limited in and out privileges

2 portapotties inside the beer garden

DETAILED FACTS:

Somethin’ naked will be hosting the beer garden, with much appreciated assistance from the Executive and other volunteers from the league. Beer, cider and coolers will be available for purchase. Pop will also be available for purchase. Water is free!

WHERE will it be held? You won’t be able to miss it – the beer garden will be held on the infield of the SouthEast diamond. Yup, that’s right – we’ll be right in the park. Look for the fences and tents. Line-ups will be marked by posters and chalk.

AT THE GATE: You will show your 2 pieces of ID and be wristbanded. You will be sold a plastic beer stein. If you will be drinking alcohol, you will pay $10 (cash) at the door for your beer stein and 2 beer/cider/cooler tickets. If you will be abstaining, you will pay $5 (cash) for your beer stein and 1 pop ticket. Everyone in the beer garden MUST have a wristband and a beer stein.

The capacity of the beer garden is 250 people. After you have been wristbanded and beer steined at the gate, the first 250 people will be let into the beer garden. If there are more than 250, the rest will have to wait until others leave. Sorry, no exceptions.

If you leave the beer garden and subsequently wish to re-enter, you will need to line up in the Re-Entry line. When capacity permits we will let people in, alternating between the new entry line-up and the re-entry line up. We cannot have more than 250 people in the beer garden at any time, not even for a minute, so please do not ask to just be let in for a minute to pick up something you forgot or talk to your ride home.

INSIDE THE BEER GARDEN: There will be four beer stations and one cider/cooler station. This should keep lines short. There will also be a ticket table where you can purchase additional pop and beer tickets. Beer tickets are $5 each, pop are $2 each. There will be a free water station as well. Please note there will be no refunds for unused beer or pop tickets.

Beer, cider, coolers and pop will only be served in your plastic beer steins. If you’re getting a stein filled for a friend as well as your own, that’s great, go for it. If you are seen drinking more than one alcoholic beverage at a time, you will be told to leave the beer garden. If you are seen giving an alcoholic beverage to a person without a wristband, you will be told to leave the beer garden.

There will be no food available for purchase inside the beer garden. There will NOT be a food truck at the field. You are welcome to bring food into the beer garden. Please dispose of all waste in the recycling bins or garbage bags, as appropriate.

There will be 2 portapotties inside the beer garden.

Here’s a time-line for you:

5:00 – Beer Garden opens

8:00 – Entry line closes – no new attendees after 8:00

8:15 – Drink ticket sales end

8:30 – No re-entry after 8:30

8:30 – Last Call

8:45 – No more drinks served

9:00 – Beer Garden closes

REMEMBER TO PLAN A SAFE WAY HOME – NO DRINKING AND DRIVING

FAQ:

Q. Why do I have to buy a stein?

A. We are requiring everyone to have a stein for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we want to reduce the garbage and recycling at the event. By keeping all cans and bottles at the beer stations we are keeping the rest of the beer garden clear for your drinking enjoyment. Plastic beer steins are unbreakable (to keep our ball diamonds safe), and reusable (to keep waste out of the landfill). Secondly, by having everyone use the same drinking vessels we are more able to avoid outside alcohol coming into the beer garden, and ensure people are only drinking one beer at a time, as per Serving It Right rules. Lastly, who doesn’t want a Mabel League beer stein!? All the cool kids will have one.

Q. What if I only want one beer? Do I have to buy 2 drink tickets at the door?

A. In order to keep the line ups moving quickly, we will only be selling entries to the beer garden as $10 stein and 2 ticket combos (or $5 for pop). You are welcome to give your spare ticket to someone else.

Q. What if I don’t use all my beer tickets? Can I get a refund?

A. No. We will not be offering any refunds on beer or pop tickets.

Q. Will there be food in the beer garden?

A. There will be no food for purchase in the beer garden. Feel free to bring your own food in. We just ask that you clean up after yourself. Hopefully in future years we will be able to get an additional food licence and have vendors present. For this first year though, as the test case, we are not going to be selling food.

Q. What if I can’t drive my car home from the beer garden?

A. You’re in luck. The street parking around the park is plentiful and you can leave your car overnight. The park is just a couple of blocks from the bus. You can catch the #20 bus on Victoria Drive (a couple of blocks West of the diamonds), which will take you straight down to Commercial-Broadway Skytrain Station.

Q. Can I buy beers for friends?

A. If your friends are in the beer garden, wristbanded and beer steined, then yes, you can take their stein with you and get it filled along with your own. We do have rules though about drinking only one alcoholic beverage at a time (if you are seen drinking more than one at a time you will be told to leave the beer garden) and not providing beer to people we have not ID checked (if you are seen giving alcohol to anyone without a wristband you will be told to leave the beer garden).

Q. What if I just need to re-enter the beer garden for a second to get the bag I forgot, or talk to my ride home?

A. We cannot go over capacity, even for a moment. We will do our best to accommodate such requests as capacity permits, and will require you to leave your phone or your pants with the line person to ensure your prompt return. No, we’re not kidding about the phone or the pants. We need to ensure that you’re coming right back and not just scamming your way ahead of the re-entry line, but we can’t very well make you leave your ID or your beer stein, since those two things are mandatory for everyone inside the beer garden to have. So your pants or your phone it shall be.

Q. I need cash – where can I get some?

A. There are cash machines at 7-11 on Victoria between 53rd and 54th, and at Scotiabank on 49th and Elliot